We acquired three new housemates today: Peter Wainwright, Lars Schmitz, and Ron Eytan. There are four or five separate projects going on here right now that have little to do with one another – we’re basically just all doing our own thing and sharing the cost of lodgings. The field station in Willemstad (Carmabi) is not the most comfortable place to stay, but by splitting the rent at Sunshine’s place in Westpunt we can stay in relative comfort for about the same price. It’s a little cramped, but we all like each other.
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- Here’s the whole crew (except for me). From left to right we have Teresa Iglesias, Ron Eytan, Matt Brandley, Peter Wainwright, Alex Dornburg, and Lars Schmitz.
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- You guys have “eye donor” checked on your driver’s licenses, right?
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- Ok, good.
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- Science isn’t always pretty. Here’s Lars demonstrating the easy way to get a fisheye lens.
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- Lars shows us the lens from the eye of a fish. It’s hard to see from pictures just how clear and pretty these things are.
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- Peter disemboweling a lionfish in preparation for preserving it. I was proud to have caught this guy because (a) it’s a damn cool fish, and (b) they’re invasive reef predators, and are a potential ecological disaster for the Caribbean.
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- Lionfish are also nasty to catch because they basically have an array of hypodermic needles filled with venom. These guys aren’t deadly, but some in their family are.
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- Alex demonstrating one of his “alternative” funding sources for graduate school.
